Review of "All My Sons"

I was at the opening performance of "All My Son" at DBS Art Centre. This is a play written by Arthu Miller, and the play is produced by Open Stage.

The synopsis at the SISTIC ticketing website says, "Where denial ends the truth begins". Everyone in the Keller family has, at the back of their mind, a suspicion that Joe is responsible for Larry's death, but they clinged on to the belief, "No, that couldn't be". After all, Larry Keller didn't ride in the kind of war plane that Joe manufactured in his factory. Mrs Keller was obsessed with the miracle that her elder son, Larry, would walk in through the door one day. "God wouldn't have let a father kill his son." Her obsession became an obstacle to her younger son, Chris, who wished to marry Annie, who was engaged to Larry. Chris and Annie both believed that Larry was dead. It had been three years since the body was reported missing. Mrs Keller was open in her view that their being together was a betrayal to Larry and herself.

Annie's brother, George, turned up at the Keller's family, to stop Annie's engagement to Chris. George told Annie that he had visited his own father, who supervised the war plane production at Joe Keller's factory. George's father was in jail for letting faulty airplanes be delivered to the military. The planes had crashed, killing 21 pilots. George's father claimed that Keller had given him the order, but Keller had denied it. Both Annie and George had ignored their father in the past three years, ashamed of his "crime", but George finally believed his father after visiting him in prison.

George sought the truth from Keller, who continued to deny it. Annie, despite her doubt, decided to leave with Chris. Annie produced the letter written by Larry before his disappearance and let Mrs Keller read it. It was clear from the letter that Larry committed suicide because he believed that his father had let the defective planes to be flown in the air. All the Kellers were devastated at the revelation.

Too late, Chris realized that it may be better for the truth to be hidden. The deep love the family member has for one another deepens the despair when they lost the respect for each other. Joe Keller's life is his family, but all that he had done for his family had not been appreciated by Chris. Chris believes that there is a world out there that everyone has to be responsible to, and he is disillusioned that all the sufferings and sacrifices in the war were easily forgotten as people went on with life making money and taking care of the bread and butter business only. No one's value and priority in life are wrong, but when one's loved one does not understand the same value, conflict arises, and in this drama, leading to broken life.